McKenna loses sentence appeal bid

Serial pedophile Dennis McKenna has been denied an extension to appeal his nine-year sentence, with the West Australian Court of Appeal labelling his delay "gross" and his offending "poisonous".

McKenna pleaded guilty in January last year to 34 counts of sexual offending against 17 victims aged between 13 and 17 when he was the warden at St Andrew's Hostel in Katanning between 1975 and 1990.

He lodged an appeal against the cumulative sentence given to him, claiming it was crushing because he was already serving six years and four months in prison for similar offences.

His lawyer had argued that the sentencing judge did not need to consider personal deterrence because McKenna had not offended in 20 years and said his personal circumstances were not adequately considered.

But on Wednesday, Justice Carmel McLure ruled that McKenna's delay in applying for leave to appeal, which was more than a year after the sentence was handed down, was "both gross and without good cause".

Justice McLure said the court had to consider whether it was arguable that the sentence was more than what was fairly necessary to achieve the sentencing objectives including punishment, retribution and general deterrence.

"Having regard to the nature, extent and poisonous effect of the appellant's offending over an extended period ... the answer is an unequivocal no," she said.